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Updated: May 11, 2026

Measuring Cell-Edge Protrusion Dynamics during Spreading using Live-Cell Microscopy
Published on: November 1, 2021
Spatial regulation of RhoC activity defines protrusion formation in migrating cells
Jose Javier Bravo-Cordero1, Ved P Sharma, Minna Roh-Johnson
1Department of Anatomy and Structural Biology, Albert Einstein College of Medicine of Yeshiva University, Bronx, NY 10461, USA. jose-javier.bravo@einstein.yu.edu
Abstract:
Protrusion formation is the first step that precedes cell movement of motile cells. Spatial control of actin polymerization is necessary to achieve directional protrusion during cell migration. Here we show that the spatial coordinators p190RhoGEF and p190RhoGAP regulate actin polymerization during leading edge protrusions by regulating the actin barbed end distribution and amplitude. The distribution of RhoC activity and proper balance of cofilin activation achieved by p190RhoGEF and p190RhoGAP determines the direction of final protrusive activity. These findings provide a new insight into the dynamic plasticity in the amplitude and distribution of barbed ends, which can be modulated by fine-tuning RhoC activity by upstream GEFs and GAPs for directed cell motility.
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